Comments on: Those New Yorkers will pay for anything (Test Prep for Kiddies)

By: edgeforlife

edgeforlife — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:26:54 +0000

I operate one of these NYC test prep companies.

Contrary to the many comments online about how stressful this must be for the typical 4 year old, it is actually fun for them – these are after all some very intelligent children and they enjoy the challenge. Our program at Manhattan Edge is called “Play Prep” just for that reason, because we strive to make it fun with games and activities they enjoy. Parents are the only ones who appear to be stressed and for good reason – once your child goes into the room with the test administrator (a stranger) it is totally out of anyone’s control.

In our program, we do two things -
1. we work on developing their cognitive thinking skills, which will stay with them through out their educational life, and
2. we expose them to the type of questions on the tests, teaching them how to look at the question, eliminate wrong choices and take their time to come up with the best answer. Many children, even bright ones answer a little too quickly.For OLSAT test prep, we work with games that develop listening skills because this test specifically gauges the child’s ability to listen and follow directions in the classroom. In tandem, it raises the comfort level of the child taking the test and of the parent that will not be there to help. I have to add, no matter what test your K child takes, all of these tests assess the same skills. Most importantly though it is crucial that your child learn the skills to do well. Taking a dozen practice tests, which all of these companies are selling, does not teach the child anything. You do not take Spanish practice tests to ace a Spanish exam, you study conjugation and vocabulary.

The system or the testing may not be perfect but when there are thousands of students to filter into the right programs you have to start somewhere. These tests are not judging the intelligence or future potential of the child, mostly the amount of enrichment they have been exposed to by the test date and how well they will listen from day one. We provide this enrichment to many homes where both parents are working – and not always wealthy homes. They want to give their children an opportunity they did not have or maybe they just want their child to follow in their footsteps – hopefully to an easier life in a world they see as more competitive than the one they grew up in.

Harley Evans
Founder and President
Manhattan Edge Educational Programs

By: CPSinterested

CPSinterested — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:02:43 +0000

Can you let me know what your kid’s test score was and what the score (ratio) was if he/she took the NY test? My daughter just turned 4 and I had her take the NY test, but I don’t know where she stands with the result, so just want to collect some info to see if there is a correlation between the NY test and CPS gifted test. Thanks.

By: It's a game

It's a game — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:53:36 +0000

I dont know about prepping four year olds–seems ridiculous and even harmful. But I do believe test prep later on makes a difference. In third grade (my kids went to catholic school), my daughter was identified as eligible for Title I reading because her diagnostic reading score was low. It didn’t sound right to me. So, I sat her down with the test and showed her how to take it. She’s been scoring in the 90′s ever since. (She stayed in the Title I after school program for a year because it was fun).

By: KevinG.

KevinG. — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:51:13 +0000

I think CPS officials and other educational experts would all (if really pressed) agree that testing 4-years-olds and taking the top scorers who happened to do well on THAT DAY of testing is imperfect…..BUT does anybody have a better and more fair way to create classes for the RGCs and Classical programs among HUNDREDS (maybe even thousands) of applicants? I have my problems with the admissions process (testing 4-yeard-olds for an enriched educational program that will help determine where they go until 6th or 7th grade seems crazy, especially since experts believe cognitive skill levels aren’t really apparent until around 7-8 yrs –some kids peak early, other not until later), but does anybody else HONESTLY have a better idea that is actually legal and practical AND won’t prompt parental complaints/possible lawsuits? I don’t. Also, for kids that “ripen” intellectualy later there still is the option of transferring at a later time, the pre-IB program, etc.

By: chicago parent

chicago parent — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:49:45 +0000

As ugly as prepping a pre-kindergardner is, doing so is understandable. With the continued focus on helping the bottom of the class, students that can achieve more are ignored in most typical classrooms. This has been my personal experience & that of my friends with kids in neighborhood programs or non gifted programs even in the better schools. Over the past 10 years the slender amount of funding for gifed kids (a term with elitist connotations) has been slashed. There is no mandate to provide challenging work for motivated kids. I sense that many parents who are prepping their kids know this and just want to get their kids into a more challenging environment. I think that it’s a shame that the talents of the most motivated & often most talented students continue to be ignored.

By: LR

LR — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:47:11 +0000

I don’t know how much test prep helps. In my opinion, getting in is a combination of being smart and lucky. I have commented before that my daughter got 97th percentile (no prep involved) and did not get in last year – and she wasn’t the only one. Is the test even sensitive enough to differentiate between 97th, 98th and 99th percentile? Could she have taken it on a different day and gotten 1-2 percentiles higher? Probably. Could she have gotten slightly different questions and gotten a different score? Probably. I plan to do a bit of test prep this year, but really, in her case, I don’t know that it’s going to make a huge difference. I just hope this year we get lucky.

By: this is crazy

this is crazy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:09:04 +0000

My son never would have tested into a program in kindergarten. In 3rd grade, the first time he was tested, he scored somewhere in the 70% in reading math etc. In 5th grade, he went up to the 98%. In 7th grade, he tested at 99% with an asterik. Kids are all over the place until about third grade–especially boys.

By: yet another mom

yet another mom — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:26:37 +0000

My experiences and opinions are very similar to those of Coonley mom’s. My daughter took the test last year around this time and I also didn’t say much about why we were there. In the waiting room, I heard kids my daughter’s age speaking French and reading aloud, while she colored and talked to me about Blue’s Clues. I didn’t think she had a chance, but when all was said and done she got into Edison. On our way out of the test my daughter asked me if they were trying to figure out how smart she was, so I guess her analytical skills and powers of deductive reasoning were pretty stong for a 4 year old after all. I still wonder where the kid speaking French ended up.

By: InTheSystem

InTheSystem — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:26:17 +0000

Perhaps the point is that there shouldn’t be prepping for the tests. Can aptitude tests really be prepped for? Perhaps the point NYC is trying to make in putting the name out there is that one’s ability is one’s ability. Even if prepped, one can only perform to the best of one’s ability. Perhaps even without spending 1000s on test prep the kids would do well on the tests and get into those schools anyway.

As an educator from a Progressive background, it seems that the focus on tests and prepping ensures that children miss play, exploration, discovery, questioning and learning that can be taking place, arming them for the world and its mysteries much more adequately than learning to test well.

By: cpsobsessed

cpsobsessed — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:42:59 +0000

OK, I’m happy to report that my son got 10/10 on the practice test for kids entering Kindergarten (2 years younger than he is.) So if he wants to be held back 2 years he could be gifted.